Page 2055 - Week 07 - Thursday, 24 June 2021
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Increasing the number of toilets is something I have spoken about for some time. There is one new toilet block under construction—it must be just about to be opened—near the learn-to-ride park. I am pretty excited to have that there. I started a conversation about that years ago with Ms Fitzharris when she was the minister for city services. Parents who took their kids to the learn-to-ride park had told me that the nearest public toilets at the Sea Scouts hall were too far away for parents with small children, especially if they have more than one child. Children being children, they usually leave it right to the last minute to tell you when they want to go to the toilet. It is really hard to pack up your kids, some of whom do not want to leave the learn-to-ride park, and walk 150 metres or more around the bend to the public toilets near the Sea Scouts hall. Now, 150 metres does not sound very far, but for little kids, with their bikes, scooters and nappy bags, often kids who do not want to be going, it is quite a long way. And because it is around the bend and around another bay, and there are lots of trees down in that area, you cannot leave your other child or children at the learn-to-ride park while you take one child to the toilets. I am really pleased that, although it has taken quite a long time, we are finally getting another toilet block at Lake Tuggeranong.
I must confess that it is not as popular with a couple of residents who have recently moved into the units at Greenway. When they purchased their unit, they may not have known that there was going to be a toilet block built on the foreshore. It is not quite in front of their block, and Mr Steel assures me that it has been located so that it is not visually intrusive. But for the greater good, for the benefit of more people, I am really pleased to see more toilets down there. It is not before time. That is a very positive thing. I have been asking for it for years, and it is great that it is finally getting done.
I also think that there would be some scope for improved maintenance of the grassed area, the bushland and the trees. In the past, I have written many times about trees that had fallen down or trees where branches had fallen off and needed to be removed, possibly for safety reasons. In many cases, it was apparent that there were dead trees or trees that had already dropped branches and were on the way out. A bit more care around the bush and the trees would go a long way.
Signage is an area where we do not necessarily need a lot more attention. On a walk around both facilities, it seemed to me that there were about three times as many signs around Lake Tuggeranong as around Yerrabi Pond. Yet I still get calls for more signage. A lot of that relates to keeping left, keeping dogs on the lead, and ringing your bell if you are on a bicycle. People still feel that there is a need for better behaviour by some people using the area. But is it more signage that is needed? I am not necessarily convinced, given that there is already quite a lot of signage.
Another issue that is raised very commonly with me is the maintenance of the paths, and even the widths of the paths and some of what I think are called banana rails around the lake, which some people feel are quite dangerous. Parkrun uses part of the path around Lake Tuggeranong each Saturday morning, and occasionally they have a water hazard on the course—a bit of mud and water over one part of the path near the Monash end. Between the pedestrian foot bridge and the road bridge, there is an area that can get quite muddy and the path gets covered.
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